A Wrinkle In Time

Chapter Eight – Journey Home

The morning of their last day in the past dawned bright and clear. A beam of sunlight streamed through a gap in the living room curtains and shone on Harry’s face, waking him up an hour earlier than usual.

He threw off his covers and slipped on his trainers before heading out to the back garden. The sunrise was beautiful, rising behind a small patch of fluffy clouds in the east. Birds were flitting around the bushes that marked the edge of his parent’s property, chasing small insects and each other. The morning air was cool and crisp, and Harry took in a few lungfuls with contented sighs.

Sitting on a cement bench, he relished in the peace that surrounded this home. He wondered if he would ever feel this way again and part of him longed to stay with his family forever. But the reality was he would have to return and face his destiny.

Taking in one last breath of fresh air, he turned back to the house and walked into the kitchen. To his surprise, Ginny was up making pancakes at the cooker. “Morning, Harry,” she chirruped.

“Up early, aren’t we?”

“I’m a bit worried about going back and couldn’t sleep. You?” she asked.

“Yeah, same here...mostly sad to leave, though. I just got used to being here and now we have to go back.” He sat on one of the raised chairs next to the island to watch her flipping the cakes.

She propped the spatula on the side of the pan and took his hand. “Harry, we’ve been given a wonderful gift to come back and be with your parents. Even better, we found each other,” she finished demurely before turning back to mind their breakfast.

A goofy grin appeared on his face as he remembered all the wonderful moments they were able to share with each other. “Yeah...” he stated stupidly.

Noticing his inebriated state, she planted a kiss on his lips before directing him to set the table. They heard a rustle from the hallway and Harry’s mum appeared in the kitchen rubbing her eyes sleepily. “You kids get up early, don’t you?”

“Well it’s our last morning here and we wanted to make the most of it,” answered Ginny.

“Are you sure you can’t stay? It’s been such a lovely time and I never got to properly thank you for saving my life.” Harry blushed at the compliment and tried to avoid looking in her eyes. Instead, she grabbed him in a huge hug and whispered in his ear, “You’re a good young man, Harry. Your mother must be proud of what a fine young man you’ve become.”

Unable to hold in the tears, Harry broke out of the embrace and ducked his head from view. “I need to use the loo,” he said gruffly before bolting out.

Once he had regained his composure, he headed back to the kitchen and was greeted by both his father and mother. They were seated at the table and motioned for him to sit with them, when they noticed him hesitate. Ginny brought over a plate each of steaming pancakes and hot bangers. Deciding to risk another breakdown, he sat between his dad and Ginny.

Ginny rubbed her shoulder against him purposefully while reaching for the butter, telling him that she was there if he needed her. He patted her knee in response so that she would know he understood. Breakfast proceeded fairly quietly until baby Harry woke up and Lily headed up to fetch him.

“Remus and Sirius will be coming over later to see you off, Harry,” his father commented.

Harry smiled a bit and said, “That will be great. I’m sorry we didn’t get to spend more time with them.”

“Don’t worry about it, Harry. I’m sure they enjoyed the time they had.”

Soon enough, the Marauders arrived, minus Peter, and they were soon deep into stories about their exploits in school. “And then Wormtail dropped the invisibility potion on his shoes...” James was laughing so hard it was difficult for him to continue.

Sirius finished for him, “He walked around in is socks for a week until the potion wore off.” Harry and Ginny were doubled over in laughter, clutching their sides and gasping for air. He never knew how much fun you could have and still get good grades. In the back of his mind, Harry decided to remind Hermione of that fact when they returned.

Glancing at Ginny’s watch, Harry realized that they only had an hour left before they would be taken back to their own time. Since they couldn’t just disappear mysteriously in front of everyone, he had arranged for them to leave thirty minutes beforehand so they could walk a ways before they really left.

Remus had brought a wizarding camera and offered to take a picture of them together. They gathered together in front of the Potter’s fireplace and James levitated the camera in front of them. He had obviously done this before as he had no problem getting it positioned the right height and distance away from them.

“All set?” he called. Harry was next to Ginny in the front, James and Lily were standing behind him holding little Harry, and Remus and Sirius were standing behind Ginny. “Everyone say, ‘Snorcack’!”

James flicked his wrist and the flash went off. Blinking away the spots in his eyes, Harry turned to Ginny and gave her a smile. He could tell she knew what was coming and they were sad together about leaving.

After a few minutes, Remus presented the picture to Harry as a gift to take with them on the trip back. They all gathered around him to look at their photographic selves moving and waving from the picture. To his surprise, the picture versions James and Lily were stealing glances at his image, huge smiles plastered on their faces. It was odd because it was the same look he remembered seeing on the faces of his parents in his other pictures. He wondered if their images, and perhaps their real selves, somehow knew he was their son.

Harry’s picture self was holding Ginny close and they would kiss every now and then. “I can’t wait to show this to Ron,” Ginny whispered conspiratorially in Harry’s ear.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to die a horrible death at the hands of your brother.”

“Don’t worry about him. I’ve got my ways of dealing with any attitude he may develop.” A wicked smile gleamed on her pretty face, reminding Harry that he would be very foolish to ever get on her bad side.

All too soon, the time for their departure was at hand and Harry motioned to Ginny that they needed to leave. Grabbing their backpacks, they reluctantly started heading for the front of the house. Lily and James followed them and gave them each a hug before opening the door.

“Be careful, Harry, Ginny. And try to visit us again soon,” Harry’s mother told them.

Glancing at his infant self, he said, “Sooner than you think.”

With a final wave goodbye, Harry took Ginny’s hand and they walked slowly down the garden path and into the street. After retracing their steps into town, they found themselves outside the café they first met Sirius.

“I’m going to miss them,” Ginny stated simply.

“Me too,” Harry responded. “But now I know who my parents were and I don’t have to rely on other people’s memories. They were good people with good hearts, and nothing can take away that knowledge.”

“Oh, Harry,” sighed Ginny as she grabbed him into a hug. “I’m so glad you got to come here and be with them.” She wiped a tear from his eye and kissed him fully on the mouth.

Reluctantly, Harry broke the kiss and grabbed Ginny’s wrist to look at her watch. “Only have a few minutes. You want to sit down?” He gestured at the chairs in front of them.

“Sure,” she answered.

They sat next to each other and Ginny grabbed Harry’s hand as if he would try to leave and run away. “Harry?”

“Yes, Ginny?”

“Thanks again for asking me to come with you. I...I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be a part of this.”

Harry reached his hand to her face and said, “Gin, I wouldn’t have done it without you.”

They sat there gazing into each other’s eyes, blissfully ignorant of the passersby walking quickly past them. Before Harry could say another word, they were thrust bodily from the chairs they were in and were gone from the past.